BMW X3 hesitation on acceleration

cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
edited September 2014 in BMW
I have an X3 on order, should arrive any day !
When I test drove an X3 I noticed a hesitation from a standing stop.
The salesman said it was due to the cold and a cold engine.
However, I have noticed this topic on other forums:

http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e83/8257513-1.html

Some have mentioned that a computer fix will take care of it. At any rate, I am leasing
a BMW, in part, for their reputation for preformance,handeling,etc.
I'm also a bit troubled about CR recent "below average" reliability rating.

Are there any current owners who can shed any light on this........I guess I'm having some buyers remorse before taking delivery !
Tagged:
«1345

Comments

  • drjcool1drjcool1 Member Posts: 45
    I have had my 2007 X3 since December, 2006. Although I am generally very happy with this vehicle, you should be aware that the hesitation that occurs with acceleration is frequent and recurring. While is true that it is exacerbated when cold, it can and does happen at any time. With regard to the reliability rating, that is exaclty why I would only lease and never buy a BMW or Mercedes. I only purchase Lexus and Acura. The X3 handles quite well, however, and it is a joy to drive. Good luck with your purchase!
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    I'll test drive it before I take delivery, as I recall it didn't seem to be real bothersome,
    but a brand new BMW should be flawless. IMO, thats why they get the big bucks.
  • x3driverx3driver Member Posts: 18
    I put another post in another part on this. You can look at it there if you want. But I also wanted to point you to another site where this topic has been beaten to death. I can't because this one won't allow it. Anyway, here is one of the postings on the topic, and there are PLENTY MORE!

    It's not my words.....

    I've had my '05 X3 for about 18 months now and I know how it works. He's had his even longer.

    Listen up here folks, here's the deal:
    In DRIVE mode the trans software is programed to start off in second gear as an economy measure to help save gas. BMW did that on purpose. If you're fairly light on the throttle it will stay in Second, accelerate, and eventually shift into Third, Fourth and Fifth. Try it out and count the shifts. (You may need to watch the tach to notice the shifts, this trans can be really smooth at very light throttle and the higher gear shifts may only vary a few hundred rpm)

    But if you put a little more foot into the throttle on take-off (i.e.: from a dead stop) the trans will shift down from Second to First to give you better acceleration. This is what it is suposed to do. It happens in an instant but you can still feel the car start to move, then "hesitate" from the shift, and then take off. If you have a light enough foot it may never even happen to you. If your foot is rather heavy you may notice it more at first but it will "teach" your trans really quick that you want a fast start most of the time.

    Now in SPORT mode the trans ALWAYS starts in first, thus no "hesitation". The drawback to always using SPORT mode to avoid the "hesitation" (gear change) is that it almost NEVER shifts into Fifth gear in city driving. The vehicle has to reach a certain speed before it will upshift to Fifth. That can really hurt your mileage in town if you never get over 35-45 mph. AND your trans never gets a chance to "adapt" to your style in DRIVE mode.

    The software that controls the transmission does "learn" your driving habits after some time. That's why they call it "Adaptive Transmission Control". The computer uses throttle position and vehicle speed to determine what gear to be in. It WILL adapt to your particular driving style but it takes a while. Maybe as long as 3-4 months depending on how much you drive it. I noticed that "hesitation" (trans shift to first) for quite a while in my X3. These days it never seems to happen. My trans has adapted

    So guys and gals, give it some time. It will smooth out the more you drive your fantastic X3s as you and the X become ONE
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    THANKS x3driver !
    Now I'm ready to take delivery of my X3 without any "hesitation" :-))
    This board is terrific ! I hope to return the favor after I have been an owner for awhile.
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    Fantastic ......... I took delivery of my 07 X3 last Thursday !
    It is living up to the BMW standard of driving for me in every way .... except for
    the adaptive trany issue. Not only do I have the hesitation from standing stop, I am also experiencing it while ascending just about any grade of 25 degrees or more !
    I can only describe it as though the car were out of tune or running out of gas.
    I am noticing this more often as the days go by. This has to be something other than the adaptive transmission issue, can anyone relate to this ?
    I plan I taking it to the dealership tomorrow.
  • x3driverx3driver Member Posts: 18
    Congrats!

    I would be prepared to explain to the dealer if it does that in SD" mode, and/or if it depends on how deep into the gas you are. It sounds worse than ours, ours is only under really light throttle, and only barely noticable......
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    Yes...in SD "sport" my X3 behaves like I would prefer. This is really two vehicles in one!
    In regular D mode it is very deliberate and refined so to speak, in SD mode it becomes
    a real tiger, almost like driving a BMW 3 series coupe. So far, my average mpg is about the same as using D, around 19.5 mpg in suburban driving.
  • trr1trr1 Member Posts: 10
    I brought my Wife's new 2007 X3 in for service today for this issue - not realizing there were many complaints about this. We experience up to 3 seconds of delay from a dead stop. BMW service just called me and said there is a software release pending that will resolve this issue. They said 3-4 weeks away. Keeping my fingers crossed.
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    I spoke to the service dept. at my dealer, he has no knowledge of any such thing.
  • yoscottyoscott Member Posts: 1
    Well, unfortunately we did not check out this web site before we purchased a new X3. We had it for one week and on Monday we brought it back to the dealer because of the MAJOR Hesitation when starting out. I found that the dealer was aware of this issue and never told us about it. We test drove another X3 and that did not have a problem. But like a silly buyer they had to go to another dealer to find our color and we did not test drive. MISTAKE.
    Anyway the dealer still has our X3 and we have a nice loaner that we will not be returning until they fix our vehicle. We were told today that by the end of the month (april)BMW should have new software that will (hopefully)fix the problem. I would highly recommend that if you have this same hesitiation issue, you should return to your dealer. Good Luck YoScott
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    Now that we are into May ....... has the software fix come to pass ?
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    I just bought a 2007 BMW X3. I test drove a different one, then took the one of the showroom floor in the color I wanted. I did not notice hesitation on test drive, but immediately noticed on mine. It is a week old and I hate it. Not to mention the stupid protruding plastic door handle that my knee constantly hits. The hesitation is horrible. It does it from a dead stop, and while driving at slow speeds. It is unacceptable to me-I want to return it. The transmission is so erratic, that passengers complain about the rough and jolty ride-it is embarrasing to tell them I spent so much on a piece of junk. I think I made a mistake. This is going to be my last BMW. I should have bought the Nissan Murano! BMW had better get this thing fixed or they will face a major class action suit. Also, I have the starting problem that I have seen others talk about. My 10 year old Jeep that I traded in on this started every single time! This thing failed to start 8 times in the first week. You need to hold it and crank the engine for 2 or 3 seconds like the cars from the 50's!
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    I am taking mine to the dealer in a few weeks. I dont know why I have to wait 3 weeks to do it. I am going to call to reschedule it earlier. I think they are stalling for time. The BMW service advisor is aware of the problem, but is not aware of a fix for it yet. They had better get something together because I will give them 3 attempts, until they are taking it back under PA lemon law. I am very serious about this problem! It is so annoying that I will not be able to stand staying in the 36 month lease! Can you believe that I actually liked the my 10 year old jeep better? It was smoother. I never had a shifting problem with that.
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    This was just posted on bimmerfest.com: I made an appointment to take mine in next wk.

    This problem has been addressed by BMW. Tell the dealer to refer to SIB 24-08-07. This includes a reprogram of the DME and the EGS.

    Art
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    I just had the dealer look at it this week. They reprogrammed it with a new software update from BMW. They said to drive 100 miles or so until evaluating it, but I dont see any change so far in 25 miles. It is still hesitating (although it seems very slightly better), but it is still very rough and erratic in upshifting and downshifting. Also in SD mode, when I let my foot off the gas, it decides to rev to 6000 rpm's briefly and intermittently for no apparent reason. Not happy, but I will see what happens.
  • mike189mike189 Member Posts: 24
    dear sir,i work for a bmw dealership here in monmouth cty new jersey,bmw has new programing for the hesitation on acell ,and it works ,but please keep in mind ,if you dont know,you know now,all bmws MUST have premium fuel,with as little ethanol content as possible,the more ethanol that is in the fuel the worse the performance,if you log onto circle bmwswebsite at circlebmw.com,read about the top tier fuel on our website thank you ,let me know how you make out.please...........mike
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Kind of a circular way to get to http://www.toptiergas.com/.

    Let's avoid hyping your dealership please.
  • hpowdershpowders Member Posts: 4,330
    Thanks for the link. Never knew about this. My station went from Chevron to Shell recently. Both on the approved list.
    Good news for my 545i! :)
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    Mike-The update or "fix" does NOT work! And yes, I do use 93 octane. The hesitation has nothing to do with loss of engine power, it is in the computer that controls how the transmission shifts.

    You press the gas, and nothing...it goes slowly, then jerks forward. Sure, it might go without hesitation if you "floor" it. This transmission controller works like a 16 year old girl learning "stick" for the first time. It is very jerky on upward and downward shifting.
    Everyone makes remarks about it when in the car, like, "how much did you pay for this", and "I thought BMW was good".The other day, I was driving 40 miles an hour, then let off the accelerator, then it shot up to 6000 rpm's briefly, then back down. Never had a car do that before. I do not like this-every day it hesitates!! Okay-I concede that it is a little better. I think this is a temporary software "patch", but not the ultimate fix.
    My lowest rated consumer reports 10 year old jeep shifted WAY better.
    Mine is going back in again for service!
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    I really think that the software programmers for the ECU need to soften up on the engine compression braking, or eliminate it. Most people do not like it-not only on the BMW-which has VERY strong compression braking, but others like Toyota as well. I feel like I am going to be lunged through the windshield when I lift my foot from the accelerator at 45 mph. And how can this possibly be good for gas mileage, not to mention the REQUIRED 91 minimum octane. hmmmmm. Makes me wonder if the car companies are in the pockets of the gas companies?
    Anyway-they better do something soon, because my car sucks! It is a very frustrating and rough ride.
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    Did you get the software update on your x3? Do you think it worked?
  • kobukkobuk Member Posts: 5
    Mark, I want to thank you for your comments. It help me with the decision to go or not to go. wish you good luck in your future car hunting. The feeling on X5 is even worse than X3, especially for pasengers - People starts to feel sick after couple turns in a busy local road. Someone might like it but not me nor average family people I guess.
  • yeomancavalryyeomancavalry Member Posts: 3
    Why would BMW allow a product to go out like that? I'm not understanding the concept of spending some 4 months driving around with an erratic transmission. I would be very pissed about the whole thing to be honest. It makes no sense that a premium product would be delivered to the consumer like that. See consumeraffairs.com and several other web sites on the X3 transmission problems and I have my doubts that BMW did a good job here. I planned on getting one, but I have my doubts now. Last year, the X5 had a recall on the transmission and numerous series 3 owners are having a lot of severe issues with the transmission. What gives BMW?
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    I dont know why we all have to be doing field testing for BMW! I am pissed and I hope they are reading these. Do NOT buy an X3 people!! They got major issues.
    Mine is going in for service the second time, and it is only 1 month old! The hesitation is worst than ever now. From a dead stop, and while driving, and cornering, the hesitation and rough downshifting is making me think that BMW is the ultimate piece of crap driving machine!
  • miniokminiok Member Posts: 14
    BMW service representatives are of no help on the issue. You simply get the "see your service manager" response. I made a big mistake getting an X3. It is indeed the ultimate piece of junk and BMW could care less.
  • kobukkobuk Member Posts: 5
    Almost reached a deal with local dealer on X3, and it sounds so good. I am glad in the last minute I reviewed this topic and learned what's going on. Of course the deal was gone. Now I start to understand why there are more than 10 X3's sitting on the dealer's lot and why the manager did his best to lure me back. Thanks for all who speak the truth. People interested in X3 be alert - at least be a little patient for the fix before you buy.
  • trr1trr1 Member Posts: 10
    The fix was installed about 3 weeks ago. Its better but not up to the so called BMW standard. The car is still choppy as hell. If it was my car I would do anything I could to give it back. Its my wife's lease and she loves the whole package but is disappointed about the lack of performance. I would strongly recommend staying away from this automobile. BMW blew it big time with this adaptive transmission implemenation. I have a 2004 330XI which is great - it does not have adaptive transmission. I plan on staying away from any BMW car with adaptive transmission. What a disappointment.
  • vsaxenavsaxena Member Posts: 211
    I am not sure what the folks who are complaining were driving before they got their X3. People driving V6, especially American cars, are used to flooring it and that is what might be causing th e problem. I have a 2007 X3 and do not face any thing which is unexpected.

    If you like to floor it, drive it in the sports mode. It will Start in Gear 1 and launch quickly. It will not get into the 6 the gear. You will burn more fuel but the car will feel like a rocket.

    If you driving on city roads and are concerned about the mileage, drive in the regular mode. However, if you are in the regular mode, do not floor the pedal every time you start. Flooring it enables the kick down and the transmission shifts down.

    The BMW inline 6 is a smooth engine with a wonderful torque-RPM curve. You do not need to floor it and rev up the engine to get the power. Drive off without flooring it and you will get smooth power delivery and reasonable acceleration for city driving. When you floor it in regular, the car downshifts which takes time (manifests has hesitation) and then launches (which feels like a strong jerk). Dont do it unless you have a traffic related reason to.

    To truly enjoy the car, try the manual shifting mode. It shifts very quickly and you can control the experience very well. :D. The adaptive tranny might be worsening the problem since it anticipates that you are going to floor and downshifts sooner. However, I doubt that it is the root cause. If you are careful about the power you apply the car will work fine.
  • cincyartcincyart Member Posts: 15
    Who is talking about flooring it ? Those of us who are unfortunate to have gotten an X3
    with this issue are just driving as we always have. When I hop in my wife's Acura, off I go without hesitation, same old method, not flooring it ! My X3 is at the dealer right now for
    the SIB 24 08 07 software update on the tranny. I will let you know if it has helped.
  • vsaxenavsaxena Member Posts: 211
    I too have an X3 I picked up in 2007. It is unlikely that our cars have different trannys. I have driven the car on the Autobahns and the roads of New York (130 mph and 10 mph average) and do not have the problem.

    One thing I realized that th gas pedal of BMWs offer a lot more resistance than other cars. For example, just today my wife commented that our 7 series requires a lot more effort on th gas pedal than an Accord V6 EX! This is because the gas pedal on the 7er has greater senstivity (i.e. shades of gas intensity) and a harder pedal allows for more precise control. This might also mean that if you are new to driving these cars, you might be putting in more effort than you realized simply because the car reacts differently to the pedal.
  • miniokminiok Member Posts: 14
    This issue has nothing to do with the gas pedal. What is happening is that the car acts like it has run out of gas at times. Other times it simply shifts with a jolt. You are fortunate tha tyours doesn;t act that way, but many others wish they had never purchased this vehicle.
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    Adjust your driving style vsaxena? Cmon! I think that something fishy is going on here. Vsaxena sounds like a BMW representative to me!

    We all know how to drive! I am 42 and all of my previous cars where fine. And yes, one was a BMW. I do not think the accelerator pedal is any different than most cars.

    The X3 has transmission problems-period.

    It hesitates from a dead stop, and also while going if you take your foot off the gas, then reapply it, it will sometimes hesitate. Also the downshifting could be quite rough. Mine was in twice already for programming. The first time it seemed okay for 3 days, then got much worse. The second time in...well I just got it back. Seems okay, but I cannot tell yet since I have to wait a week or two.
    Dont jump to conclusions on this after you get your service software update done. It takes a few hundred miles to adapt. I already had it hesitate twice. I will let you know. I have my doubts. If it gets bad again, then I will definitely be looking into Lemon Law rights before the third service attempt. :lemon:
    I hope this is fixed!

    For more of the same topic on hesitation you might want to go to www.bimmerfest.com and take a look at their x3 forum!
  • trr1trr1 Member Posts: 10
    I agree with you - some folks are lucky, some are not. We are not. My wife was ok with the fix until this weekend. She stepped on the pedal to try and change lanes and the car just was not there for her. She moved it to sport mode and the rpm's shot up before the car kicked in - she could not change lanes. We have about 400 miles on the car since the change. Going back to the dealer - what a disappointment.
  • friscogolferfriscogolfer Member Posts: 1
    I finally has a chance to test drive the X3 last week. I ask for a non-sport model and I have my wife and kids with me, so it's only a short drive. I can feel the hesitation and 1 time when I ease up on the gas, the engine brake on me and slow the car way down which completely caught me by surprise. Unless there's a proven fix by BMW, I will not recommend or buy the X3.
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    :lemon: This car is a big dissappointment. Definitely not up to BMW standards. I just had the car in twice already for software updates on the transmission, and it is only 6 weeks old!
    The results this time? Seemed great for 150 miles, then it started again. Today I went to make a left turn when the light turned green. It hesitated so bad that I actually thought that the engine stalled! Not impressive! Where is the REAL fix BMW??? Will it be out before I take my car back under the lemon law? Too bad, because aside from this, when in rare times it does work, it is actually a joy to drive.
  • trr1trr1 Member Posts: 10
    My wife just got chills. We just finished typing up a letter to BMW sales/service because we had the fix May 21st and she had the EXACT SAME ISSUE as you this morning - making a left turn, car choked and felt like it was going to stall in the intersection. The car finally lurched forward to avoid being hit. This car is a nightmare. We will be discussing this with BMW first thing Monday morning. Tell everyone you know to stay away from ANY BMW with adaptive transmission for the foreseeable future! Our car was leased from Rallye BMW, Westbury, New York, 11590. They should not be selling this automobile - someone is going to get hurt.
  • grazynagrazyna Member Posts: 5
    I am thinking of buying the X3 but the transmission problem everyone is talking about has me worried. I spoke with a dealer who said that 2 customers have brought in their X3s for service on the transmission and the service people have just replaced them, saying that BMW won't tell them (service) what exactly is wrong -- just to replace them. Is there any reason to believe that a new "replacement" transmission will have the "fix" (software) that some folks have mentioned? Has anyone seen any BMW explanation for the problem and how/when it will really be fixed?
  • capccapc Member Posts: 4
    :lemon: :confuse: :sick: I want back my Toyota Corolla, that was a reliable car it was. Never had a problem with it ever, period. When I wanted acceleration, I had it. With the X3 you simply are in complete suspense, will it accelerate?, will it not....The X3 transmision problem IS a BIG and REAL issue. Stay away from the X3. Never had a luxury car before, but after this experience, I will go back to japanese cars, maybe Acura or Lexus, what a disapointment the BMW X3 is.....
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    This is unbelievable isnt it? I thought I was alone in this, but I see so many people are having very similar problems. I had it in twice already and it is not even 2 months old.
    Today-another near miss. While turning left into Home Depot, it actually went forward briefly, then hesitated right in the middle of the intersection. I had to floor it to avoid other cars from hopefully just slowing down to avoid a collission.
    Weird thing is that it seemed really good just after the second service, then after 150 miles, and now 250 miles later it is getting progressively worse again. SD mode is out of the question-that is so jerky and uncomfortable-what a joke. I hope nobody gets in an accident with this. I only pull out when there is absolutely no traffic-its like russian roullette if you dont. :lemon: :sick:
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    Well is has been 450 miles since my 2 month old x3 has been in for service 2 times for the transmission hesitation problem. To be honest, it is MUCH better than it was, but it still hesitates intermittently. Unfortunately the hesitation pops up in the worst place-right in the middle of an intersection while making left hand turns-did it again yesterday! I guess it would do it on right hand turns as well. THe sd mode in my opinion has gotten worse on this program update-seems terribly erratic and rough.
    I guess I will wait awhile until they get another software update-(or if they do). I think twice before pulling out in traffic, and that sucks, because this is a BMW, its expensive, and it is SUPPOSED to work properly every time! :lemon: :lemon:
  • jacqvajacqva Member Posts: 2
    Add me to the list of dissatisfied X3 customers. I purchased a fully loaded 2006 X3 in Jan 2006, and have had nothing but problems with it. Besides minor annoying things like having to buckle my briefcase in the passenger seat to avoid painful howling by the seat belt alarm, I have had my “SAV” in the shop 3 times in the first year. The software for the blue tooth phone & GPS had to be reloaded several times because it starts acting flaky and eventually just dies every 3-4 months. The GPS has the WORST user interface I have ever seen. It's missing a significant portion of I66 in the Wash DC area and I was told it was because I66 has HOV restrictions during certain hours and BMW doesn’t want to get sued for telling someone to go down a highway that might require 2+ people in the vehicle. So they just decided to eliminate an entire INTERSTATE and send everyone on back roads??

    As for the Bluetooth phone, if you have a PDA that has your entire address book, you will be clicking forever to find a name in the middle of your directory. It only displays ~10 numbers at a time, and there is no way to jump to a letter, so you have to page through the entire directory 10 numbers at a time (if you have work, home and cell numbers for folks, that counts as three). Oh...if the person you are trying to call is not home and you want to now call their cell phone, you have to start ALL OVER AGAIN. ARGH…

    Also, do NOT buy the iPod adapter! It is worthless. Your entire ipod directory is displayed as “TRK 1”, TRK 2”, etc. You have no idea who the artist is or the song title. I have not used it since the day I had it installed.

    But the main issue is the transmission. I am beyond frustrated because each time I take it in, the service folks tell me the transmission checks out “normal” on their computers. I am convinced that this jerky transmission and high RPMs is the reason I get horrible gas mileage on this vehicle. I am averaging around 14.5mpg in the city and 17.5 on the highway. Now, before you accuse my driving habits for this, I do *not* have a lead foot, this is not my first BMW, and yes, I *always* put 93 octane in the car. I too have had many many passengers in my car make comments on how bad this thing shifts and how they think I should have bought a Lexus, etc.

    Wish me luck…I am about to take the car in for the 4th time in 15 months. Sigh…
    :lemon: :lemon:
  • capccapc Member Posts: 4
    Hi frustated x3 owners, any of you an attorney? I wonder how do I just return my x3 and get my money back. Going to your dealership is just a waste of time it seems. They will try to convince you is "normal" or will try to "teach you how to drive a good car". Has anyone contacted BMW directly about this??. How about a class action sue against BMW for this?? any ideas how to proceed?
  • trr1trr1 Member Posts: 10
    We just got the car back after it leaving it at the dealership for over a week - the problem apears to be fixed. They had to re-program the entire car. Apparently there is a specific order which the patch needs to be installed. The first installation of the patch did not help. We forced BMW to flatbed the car from our house as I would not let my wife drive the car anymore. We had a loaner 328xi for the week. The tech foreman test drove the car with my wife. He said out of the 200 Jan production cars Rallye BMW in Westbury sold, 4 have been back for this issue. He has personally fixed each car and claims none have come back since he has applied the patch. Makes you think the tech has to really know what they are doing when working on this issue. I will report back after a few hunded miles of driving.
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    Mine still hesitates, but is much better than it was. Unforunately the hesitation, when it occurs, happens while getting out in an intersection! Not safe!
  • vsaxenavsaxena Member Posts: 211
    For the past few weeks I have been trying to reproduce the problem all over Long Island and Manhattan. I may have hit upon something.

    BMW has a bunch of advanced technologies which anticipate when you are about to brake. For example, if you ease of the gas pressure to apply the brake, it pre-tightens some of the mechanical stuff to reduce braking time and distance. Similarly of the rain sensitive wipers detect rain, it starts drying out the brakes.

    To improve mileage, it also will try to anticipate when you are trying to brake/stop and reduce fuel flow. During a turn many drivers tend to reduce the pressure on the gas pedal. This is not a conscious decision but happens with everyone. If you are taking off from a stop, and turning, and reduce the pressure on the gas pedal, the car might be anticipating that you are about to brake. The electronic throttle might be reducing the gas flow, in anticipation of the brake. So try and keep constant pressure on the gas pedal during turns.

    Ideally, you are supposed to hit the gas when hit the apex of the turn. I guess BMW is tuned towards that and if you ease on the gas, it anticipates that you are going to stop.

    BTW, this car is mean to be driven in the steptronic manual mode. Lots of fun!!

    Good luck with your X3s folk. I am having a blast in mine.
  • miniokminiok Member Posts: 14
    Great theory! I can't wait to hear how you explain the fact that it hesitates and stumbles when attempting to accelerate in a straight line after stopping. The hesitation isn't happening only in turns, it happens when not turning as well. So much for that theory.
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    I said it before and I will say it again-I think vsaxena is a BMW REP!

    I am with you miniok. Why should millions of people learn to drive differently because BMW cant program their cars correctly? That theory is blown!

    Well here is my conclusion after the second service and 1200 miles later:
    I have my X3 for just over 2 months now. It was in for tranny software updates twice. The first did nothing. The second actually helped the hesitation, erratic downshifting, and a host of other issues a great deal....BUT...it still hesitates, and stumbles intermittently while turning or going straight. And it happens at the most unsafe time-when crossing traffic or pulling out. I have to wait until traffic is totally clear (like an 80 year old granny would), before proceeding, or it will choke when I pull out. I had to slam it in reverse to clear oncoming cars, and have had horn blows from angry drivers. Not as often as before, but it still happens a few times a week, if not once a day.
    This is unsafe, and is not acceptable to me. I want it fixed, or a new car, or my money back!

    Too bad, because when it works, it is a real nice ride.

    I REALLY REGRET BUYING THIS VEHICLE! IT IS A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO TAKE IT IN CONSTANTLY-THATS WHY I GOT RID OF MY OLD CAR AND BOUGHT THIS ONE! UGHHHHH!!!!! I actually talked to a rep where I bought it, and he told me that there was nothing wrong with the car, but BMW would reprogram it for me to suit my driving. Isnt that a crock of BS!!! By the way, I could not get a word in edgewise with this guy. Well here goes my adventure with service visit number THREE!!
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Just because someone is knowledgeable about and is a fan of a certain brand of car doesn't mean that they work for the company.

    btw, we do have a BMW rep visit the forum occasionally (bmwna).

    If there's another dealer anywhere close you could try stopping in for another opinion. And you can file a complaint with the NHTSA about the hesitation.
  • markdimarkdi Member Posts: 33
    That is fine with me. I want reps to read these. But, I do not want them to come up with a million excuses why the car is perfectly fine, when it is not.
    I know there are knowledgeable people on here. I happen to be one of them!
  • miniokminiok Member Posts: 14
    I think our host has come up with a great idea. If everyone with the hesitation problem would contact NHTSA, maybe BMW would acknowledge the problem and get a real solution instead of "thats normal" or "they all are like that". The dealer I bought from won't even acknowledge the problem and contacting BMW is equally unproductive.
This discussion has been closed.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles